For the sixth time in franchise history, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 2001, Carolina made its second playoff appearance since relocation and drew the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round. Despite losing the series to the Devils, the Hurricanes earned a standing ovation from the home crowd in the waning minutes of that Game Six defeat. It was the first series in the new Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, and the Caniacs were sending a “thank you” for bringing the playoffs to the Capital City.

Since the 2001 matchup, the Canes and Devils have met in the playoffs in 2002, 2006, 2009, and 2023, and Carolina has won each of those series.

But as the saying goes, throw the record books out the window. This afternoon is a clean slate for each team, and that is much needed for each squad.

Like Carolina, New Jersey coasted to the end of the regular season after clinching a playoff spot. Both teams won just two games in April, with the Canes going 2-6-1 and the Devils earning a 2-4-0 record.

New Jersey’s strong play in November and December set them on a path to the playoffs. The Devils’ 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on December 27 put them eight points ahead of Carolina in the standings. This was the widest gap in the standings that New Jersey held over Carolina during the season.

But the next night, the Canes beat the Devils 5-2 at the Lenovo Center. This kicked off a four-game losing streak for New Jersey and the beginning of a lackluster 2025. New Jersey has been below average since the calendar flipped to 2025, compiling an 18-20-4 record in 2025. Carolina was 25-17-3 over the same period.

Less than a month after New Jersey held an eight-point lead over Carolina, the Canes passed the Devils in the standings after the overtime win in Chicago on January 20. The Hurricanes did not look back. The widest gap between the teams came during game 74, with the Canes having 96 points and the Devils with 83.

There will be a few storylines in this series.

Most notably, star center Jack Hughes will not play. His shoulder injury required surgery, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is out with a lower-body injury.

Next, special teams will be a focus. This is where New Jersey has a clear advantage. These are the top two penalty killing teams in the league, with the Devils less than one percentage point behind the Hurricanes for the top spot.

New Jersey has the third-best power play in the NHL, nearly 10 percentage points better than Carolina. The power play struggles for the Canes have been well-documented, and the execution on the man advantage must improve for the Hurricanes to win this series and make a playoff run.

If these top penalty killing teams stifle both power plays, then the focus shifts to five-on-five play. Here, the Hurricanes are the better team. The Devils have a positive goal differential thanks to the power play. In five-on-five situations, New Jersey has allowed 152 goals and scored 149. Carolina has 176 five-on-five goals, allowing 167. Each advanced statistic for five-on-five play favors the Canes.

A major issue for the 2023–24 New Jersey team was goaltending. Five goalies suited up for the Devils last season, and this carousel of goaltenders was undoubtedly a factor in the team missing the playoffs.

Jacob Markstrom was brought in during the offseason to stabilize the situation, and he has done just that. Markstrom compiled a 26-16-6 record this season, carrying the workload for the Devils. His .900 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average are not off the charts, but he and the New Jersey defense combined to have the fifth-best average goals allowed in the league.

Markstrom has struggled after returning from an MCL sprain sustained during a collision in January. Since his return on March 2, Markstrom has a 5-7-1 record with a .869 save percentage. In three of those games, Markstrom allowed six or more goals.

The Hurricanes are a shot generation machine, and considering Markstrom’s recent performances, Carolina should focus on peppering Markstrom early and often.

In an uncharacteristic move, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour announced his starting goalie ahead of time. Yesterday, Brind’Amour announced Frederik Andersen is the starter for Game One.

What will be Brind’Amour’s strategy for goaltending this year? During the 2024 playoffs, Andersen made seven starts before Pyotr Kochetkov made his first start in the second round.

Does Brind’Amour employ this same strategy or return to a rotation like during the regular season? Workload management and the risk of injury must be considered. Let’s see if Kochetkov gets the nod for Game Two.

Lastly, there are a lot of familiar faces on the Devils. Brett Pesce will suit up for his first playoff series not in a Hurricanes jersey. Stefan Noesen ranks fourth on the Devils with 22 goals. Dougie Hamilton is quarterbacking New Jersey’s second power play unit and has five goals and 10 assists on the man advantage.

Hurricanes draft pick Brian Dumoulin has played quite a bit since coming to New Jersey from Anaheim.

And then there is Erik Haula.

Keep up with these storylines and more as Canes Country follows the Hurricanes in their quest for the Stanley Cup.

Below are the projected lines and pairings for New Jersey:

• Stefan Noesen — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
• Erik Haula — Dawson Mercer — Timo Meier
• Paul Cotter — Cody Glass — Daniel Sprong
• Ondrej Palat — Justin Dowling — Nathan Bastian
• Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
• Brenden Dillon — Dougie Hamilton
• Brian Dumoulin — Jonathan Kovacevic
• Jacob Markstrom
• Jake Allen

Scratched: Dennis Cholowski, Kurtis MacDermid, Seamus Casey, Simon Nemec, Nolan Foote, Tomas Tatar, Curtis Lazar

Injured: Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body), Jack Hughes (shoulder)

• Seth Jarvis — Sebastian Aho — Jackson Blake
• Taylor Hall — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Andrei Svechnikov
• Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Logan Stankoven
• William Carrier— Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
• Jaccob Slavin — Brent Burns
• Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield
• Shayne Gostisbehere — Sean Walker
• Frederik Andersen
• Pyotr Kochetkov

Scratched: Tyson Jost, Jack Roslovic, Alexander Nikishin

Injured: None

For those attending today’s game, the parking lots officially open at noon. The doors open at 1:45 PM, and puck drop is at 3:00 PM.

Fans are encouraged to download the Hurricanes’ mobile app to participate in the pregame light show.

Since it is Easter Sunday, there is an Easter Puck hunt at the Lenovo Center. There are five festive pucks hidden somewhere inside the arena.

Here’s how to check out the action:

• Time: 3:00 PM ET
• Location: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
• TV: FanDuel Sports Network South with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Hanna Yates, in-game reporter; Shane Willis, analyst.
• Radio: 99.9 The Fan
• Line: ML: CAR -218; PL: CAR -1.5 +130